Plaintiff Has Poor Time at the Theatre
In a recent decision, the Supreme Court, New York County recently granted plaintiff’ motion for summary judgment as to his Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action.
In Booth v. Lincoln Ctr. for the Performing Arts, Inc., plaintiff alleges that while working at a construction site, he was walking on a steel scaffolding platform, when he suddenly stepped into an uncovered hole. Plaintiff alleges that the scaffolding platform was missing a plank, which created the hole he stepped into, and immediately fell through the hole up to his chest. He prevented himself from falling all the way through the hole by using his arms to catch the scaffold and pulled himself out of the hole.
At the conclusion of discovery plaintiff moved for summary judgment as to, inter alia, his Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action, and the Supreme Court, New York County granted that motion. In the decision, the Court found that plaintiff’s testimony that he was standing on a scaffold approximately 50 feet high, and fell into a hole caused by a missing plank established his prima facie entitlement to summary judgment as a matter of law. Defendant’s arguments that plaintiff simply fell because he was not paying attention and reliance on conflicting witness statements were unpersuasive because they ultimately still failed to provide a remedy to mitigate the risk, here the hole in the scaffold.
The decision also reminded us that if plaintiff simply fell because he was not paying attention, that would impact comparative negligence, which is not a bar to summary judgment and is not a defense to Labor Law § 240(1).
A case involving Lincoln, Booth and a theatre. Labor Law is the gift that keeps on giving.
The Booth decision can be found here.
For additional information, contact Philip D. Priore, Esq. and/or Michael J. Shields, Esq.
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